Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid

Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid

Contributor(s):
Watson, James D., 1928-
Crick, Francis, 1916-2004
Nature
Publication:
Nature Publishing Group, 25 April 1953
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Genre(s):
Archival Materials
Articles
Abstract:
This is Watson and Crick's concise, understated original explication of their double helical model of DNA and its key feature, the complementary pairing of the purine and pyrimidine bases on the inside of the molecule. The schematic drawing of the double helix was provided by Crick's wife, Odile, a trained artist. Although it has since become canonical, one of the best-known articles in the scientific literature, it was not often cited during the early years after its publication. Its significance was acknowledged fully by biochemists and other scientists, and it became a standard reference, only after the mechanism by which DNA directed the synthesis of proteins, the building blocks of life, was elucidated in the late 1950s.. Although Watson and Crick acknowledged Rosalind Franklin's X-ray diffraction studies of DNA, they did not fully disclose the extent to which their theory rested on her experimental evidence, an intellectual and moral debt they struggled to discharge over the course of several decades.
Copyright:
This item may be under copyright protection; contact the copyright owner for permission before re-use.
Extent:
2 pages
NLM Unique ID:
101584582X381 (See in Profiles in Science)
Profiles in Science ID:
SCBBYW
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584582X381
Archival Collection:
The Francis Crick Papers (Profiles in Science)